Readers share their moments with Ford

Thursday, January 04,
2007

The Grand Rapids Press

For all his national accomplishments, Gerald R. Ford was
also a homegrown hero who touched the lives of countless
local residents. Many readers, eager to share their memories
of the former president, sent their recollections to The
Press. Their stories, excerpted here, show Ford's
humanity, sense of humor and fondness for his hometown.

Surprise meeting with the president

Joy Bartlett was "introduced" to Ford about four
years ago by her sister Joanie, who was left mentally
impaired by a childhood bout of encephalitis. When her
sister was in Grand Rapids for therapy for a broken arm,
they went to see the former president at the Gerald R. Ford
Museum: "It wasn't long before I found a
presidential medal with Ford's picture and turned
around to show Joanie. No Joanie! Where was she? I began to
panic as I scanned the entire little shop. Something told me
to check behind that wall. Coming from behind the
president, I saw, to my dismay, that my sister was right
there, talking to him! He had his hand on her shoulder. As I
approached, I heard him asking about her arm cast and then
he spotted me. 'Are you Joy?' he asked. 'Oh,
yes, yes she is. She is Joy!' was Joanie's typical
response. I quickly explained that I was her sister and was
so sorry that she had cut in line. 'I thought she was
right with me in the gift shop,' I mumbled, extremely
embarrassed as I glanced at that long line waiting their
turn to be where Joanie was. "President Ford laughed
heartily and said, 'I'm glad she did. Don't
you worry. Now, Joanie, you take care of sister Joy and make
sure she doesn't get lost again,' as he patted my
shoulder. What a kind and rare gentleman he was, and how
good of God to grant me this experience!"

Childhood memories

Kristi (VanderTill) Russo, of Caledonia, lived in
Washington, D.C., when her father, Gordan VanderTill, worked
for what is now the Department of Energy. When Ford returned
to Grand Rapids while a member of Congress, her father would
pick him up at the airport and bring him to their house on
36th Street: "I have many fond memories and memoirs of
President Ford. Perhaps the best ones are playing with his
golden retrievers on the White House lawn while my dad was
doing whatever he did. I have been in the private living
quarters of the White House, the Oval Office, the kitchen,
the lawn and on Air Force One."

A source of consolation

Carol DeYoung, of Wyoming, tells about her brother-in-law,
Gerald Lee DeYoung, a young Army sergeant who died June 30,
1956, while on a weekend pass at Kentucky Lake in Kentucky.
He fell from a speedboat and drowned. The Department of the
Army had the lake dragged, but to no avail, and decided to
stop the search. Sgt. De Young's parents,
understandably upset, called then-Rep. Ford for assistance:
"Congressman Ford immediately contacted the right
people and the search continued, however, his body was not
found at that time. There were several phone calls and
letters exchanged between the family and Congressman Ford
during this period and it was always a source of great
consolation that such an important man would take the time
to do all he could to aid the family. Sgt. De Young's
body was found several months later and was laid to rest
Oct. 29, 1956, in Grand Rapids. The kindness and help the
family received was never forgotten and they were very
touched by his effort."

An inspiring speech

Caledonia resident Rhonda Bennett visited Washington, D.C.,
with her high school government class in April 1975:
"The highlight of my experience was listening to
President Gerald Ford speak to us in the Rose Garden. He
reminisced about his first trip to the capital when he was
just 17 years old and shared that it was then that he was
inspired to get involved. He also told us that we had the
same opportunities and encouraged us to be active in
government."

Responding to constituents

Grand Rapids resident Cheryl Debri's father, Irwin
Koropas, wrote Rep. Ford a letter in 1950 detailing his
concerns about Communism. Ford not only replied to Koropas,
but he had Koropas' letter inserted into the
Congressional Record, saying: "I do feel you have a
expressed a point of view which is at the present time
altogether too often forgotten."

Birthday greetings

The former president was invited to the 80th birthday party
of Grand Rapids pianist Jean Miller in 1982. Marcia Miller
said her mother was thrilled to instead receive a letter
from Ford: "While I do not have the talent to join in a
'Musical Salute to Jean Miller,' I am happy to
salute my friend, Jean, on the occasion of her 80th
birthday."

A memorable visit

When Kim Kraft, of Coopersville, and her twin sister were 8,
they visited Rep. Ford in Washington with their family. Soon
afterward, he became vice president: "We sent him a
picture of our meeting, and he sent it back to us with a
kind letter and his autograph on the picture. I still
remember how proud we were to get that letter! We had asked
him to be the 'goodest' vice president, and he
said he would."

Remembering neighbors

East Grand Rapids resident Constance Ellis' parents,
Michael and Geneva Skaff, met Ford when he lived next door
to them on Sherman Street SE: "Years later, when my
father unexpectedly died on Jan. l, 1975, and his good
friend Jerry was then the sitting president of the United
States, President Ford called my mother from the Oval Office
to express to her his condolences. We could not believe it
when the phone rang and we were told the White House was on
the line. Our family will never forget his thoughtfulness at
this sad time in our lives."

Congratulations from a congressman

When Donna Szczepanski, now a Grand Haven resident, won a
book review contest at the West Side library in 1957 at age
10, she received a congratulatory letter from Rep. Ford:
"The thrill of receiving that letter is still with me
today each time I look at the reminder of such a wonderful
man who always stayed connected with his beloved state of
Michigan and cared enough to congratulate a
10-year-old."

Lasting inspiration

Dee Pickering said her sons, East Grand Rapids High School
graduates John and David, were inspired by Ford to try their
hands at politics. John Pickering, who received a reply to a
letter he wrote to Rep. Ford, later served on the Petoskey
Commission. David Pickering was an intern on Ford's
staff when he was House Minority Leader and later ran for
the state Senate from Oakland County.

Serving 'ALL the people'

Gordon VanderTill, now of Alpena, served as Ford's
first full-time special assistant in the Grand Rapids
office, eventually overseeing two re-election campaigns and
helping "resolve 'barking dog
complaints.'" At the end of two weeks of training
for the job in Washington in March, 1969, he sat down with
Ford and heard the congressman's approach to serving
the people: "One of the most enduring admonitions I
recall was his explicit direction that there was no
political test in his office. 'When someone comes in to
seek help,' he stated, 'remember that I was
elected to serve ALL the people of the congressional
district.'"

Witness to turbulent era

Janet Heyl Vail, of Ada Township, was an intern for Rep.
Gerald R. Ford in May 1968, during her junior year at the
University of Michigan: "It was a strange time to be in
Washington -- Martin Luther King had been killed in April
and the Poor People's March on Washington was happening
that month. Little did we know that Robert Kennedy would be
next (in June). "Ronald Reagan was in town, and I was
able to see him. I also remember seeing some correspondence
from Richard Nixon, whom I had met at one of his visits for
a Ford fundraiser in Grand Rapids.

"A lot of history was being shaped in 1968, and it was
an honor to be a part of life in Washington at that time.
The Ford office was very much an anchor of the solid Midwest
values in an otherwise turbulent time."

On the president's 'trail'

Matthew Weigle, of Grandville, met Ford several times during
his years as a Boy Scout in the late 1970s and 1980s, but
one occasion stands out: "I was fortunate to be a
member of Pack 292, the first pack to complete the Gerald R.
Ford Trail. It was an honor to have the medal for completing
the trail presented to me by Gerald Ford personally. I have
always been proud of President Ford and his connection to
Scouting. I believe he practiced the Scouting oath and law
while in office. This served as a model for me growing up,
and I am proud to say he came from my hometown."

Tour ended in handshake

Sarah (Souter) Ginebaugh, of Belmont, visited the White
House in 1975 when she was 12. They were friends of
Ford's physician, Dr. Bill Lukash, who offered them a
private tour: "While we were outside on the South Lawn,
my brother Tom (then age 10) and I could see President Ford
out walking the grounds also. To our surprise, Dr. Lukash
yelled over to him (and I remember these words exactly):
'Mr. President, I have some people here from Grand
Rapids.' Well, to our amazement, President Ford cut
through some bushes, walked over to us, held out his hand to
my dad, and said, 'Hi, Don!' Needless to say, my
brother and I were floored! The president had cut through
bushes to come talk to us, and knew our dad by name! (Dad
was involved in local politics and Mr. Ford remembered
him.)" Ginebaugh said Ford later told her brother that
he was walking around the White House pool because he had to
fish a mouse out of it.

Breakfast with the president

James Huyser met Ford when he appeared at a breakfast with
his Boy Scout troop. The Grandville troop was among the
first to complete a historic hiking trail in downtown Grand
Rapids and Ford presented the Scouts with awards recognizing
that achievement: "Not only did he leave lasting
memories of having breakfast with a president, but he also
took the time to personally autograph each Scout's
essay, proving a great memento and memory of our morning
with him."

Meeting two chiefs

Phyllis Van Vugt Bratt, of Grand Rapids, served as a
special-duty nurse to Ford's mother after some surgery
during the 1960s. When she and her husband were planning a
trip to the Palm Springs area a few years ago, they visited
Ford: "When we arrived at his office, there had been an
unexpected glitch in his schedule, and we were asked to
wait. While waiting, we were surprised by the arrival of
President (George) H.W. Bush, and we had the privilege of
being introduced to him as well. We were then ushered into
President Ford's office and had a very pleasant and
informal 20 minutes with him, and he was very pleased to
hear these details of his mother's life."

Cocoa and cookies

Shirley Swaney, now of Holland, was a cocoa-and-cookies
neighbor: "Our family grew up next door to President
Ford's family: his parents, Gerald and Dorothy, and his
siblings, Tom, Dick and Jim. We have many fond memories of
those years and the Ford boys next door. Jerry was in
Washington at this time but came back frequently to visit.
Both our families attended Grace Episcopal Church. On
Christmas Eve, we were always invited to the Fords for cocoa
and Christmas cookies after the evening church
services."

Oops, lost a call

Mary Beth Reed, of Lowell, served as an intern for Ford when
he was the House minority leader. Once, she was filling in
for the staff receptionist and accidentally lost a call from
a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "Mr. Ford
promptly came out of his office to see what had happened. I
was, of course, embarrassed and more than a little nervous
to see his reaction. He simply laughed it off and asked me
to phone the general back, and that was it. I couldn't
believe how sweet he was and how matter-of-fact he was about
the whole situation."

Pleasant visit

Herman Hoevenaar, 92, of Caledonia, received a letter from
Ford when he was a congressman, congratulating him and his
wife on their wedding anniversary, and Ford even stopped by
his wife's nursing home when she was dying from a rare
disease.

Kitchen speaker

Bill Farr, of Grand Rapids, served as chairman of the 1964
Kent County Lincoln Day Dinner and was surprised when guest
speaker Ford accepted an invitation to dinner at his house
afterward: "He spent at least an hour or more standing
in our small kitchen-dining area, answering questions about
the issues of the day and talking about the work and
findings of the Warren Commission. That was my first, of
several, experiences in which he displayed his genuineness
and his interest in what other people thought."

Civics lesson

Cynthia Gorman, now a resident of Cadillac and Florida, grew
up in Grand Rapids. She and her family were touring the
White House on Aug. 8, 1974, when Nixon's pending
resignation was announced: "It was a mad house --
members of the press all over. What a civics lesson for our
children. That night, we went to the White House and stood
outside the fence at 11 p.m. to midnight, and the rooms were
dark, except for one room on the second floor, where we
could see men walking past the window, and we could see that
it was Mr. Kissinger."

Good advice

Richard J. Van Gemert is now a Fairfield, Conn., resident
but attended South High School and met Ford in 1953. When
Van Gemert found himself with appointments to the Naval
Academy, Coast Guard Academy and the ROTC program, he
discussed his options with Ford: "I clearly remember
him sitting and smoking his pipe as he walked me through the
merits of each of these programs. His recommendation was to
take the regular NROTC program and attend the University of
Michigan. Upon graduation, I served in the U.S. Navy as a
pilot, and his advice was the best that I ever had."

Presidential applause

Kim Reynolds, of Grand Rapids, waited on Ford while working
in the Fifth Third Ball Park suite about seven years ago:
"He was extremely nice and seemed to enjoy his pork
chop sandwich. Near the end of the game, I revisited the
suite to again thank everyone and express my gratitude for
being able to wait on the former president. He immediately
stood up and began clapping for me, which prompted the other
guests in the suite to do the same. Wow! President Ford
clapping for me! Just another example of the humble,
'normal' person he was!"

6-foot souvenir

Shirley Vanderson, of Grand Rapids, met the Fords after a
parade on Monroe Avenue and collected a souvenir of that
occasion: "We inched our way to the front of the
roped-off area where both of them appeared within minutes.
As Betty approached me, she stopped and proceeded to hug and
kiss me while Jerry patiently waited and then did likewise.
I was elated beyond belief and could not stop talking about
it when I returned to the (Amway Grand Plaza) suite. As we
left, the workers were taking down the decorations, etc.,
and I asked if I could have the six-foot picture of Jerry
Ford to take home. I then placed this huge photo in my front
picture window the day of the election for all to see. The
large photograph of Jerry stayed in our family for many
years until getting lost during a move."

On dad's lap

Myrna Kossen Dornan, now of Douglas, remembers visiting Rep.
Ford's mobile office in Zeeland with her father in the
1950s: "Sure enough, after a little while, we were
ushered inside and, as my dad sat down to talk to Rep. Ford,
I sat on my dad's lap and listened. I was too small to
remember what was said, but I remember how important it was
for us to be there."

Sister leads the way

Joy Bartlett was "introduced" to Ford about four
years ago by her sister Joanie, who was left mentally
impaired by a childhood bout of encephalitis. When her
sister was in Grand Rapids for therapy for a broken arm,
they went to see the former president at the Gerald R. Ford
Museum: "It wasn't long before I found a
presidential medal with Ford's picture and turned
around to show Joanie. No Joanie! Where was she? I began to
panic as I scanned the entire little shop. Something told me
to check behind that wall.

Coming from behind the president, I saw, to my dismay,
that my sister was right there, talking to him! He had
his hand on her shoulder. As I approached, I heard him
asking about her arm cast and then he spotted me.
'Are you Joy?' he asked. 'Oh, yes, yes
she is. She is Joy!' was Joanie's typical
response. I quickly explained that I was her sister and
was so sorry that she had cut in line. 'I thought
she was right with me in the gift shop,' I mumbled,
extremely embarrassed as I glanced at that long line
waiting their turn to be where Joanie was.

"President Ford laughed heartily and said,
'I'm glad she did. Don't you worry. Now,
Joanie, you take care of sister Joy and make sure she
doesn't get lost again,' as he patted my shoulder.
What a kind and rare gentleman he was, and how good of God
to grant me this experience!"

Playing with the first dogs

Kristi (VanderTill) Russo, of Caledonia, lived in
Washington, D.C., when her father, Gordan VanderTill, worked
for what is now the Department of Energy. When Ford returned
to Grand Rapids while a member of Congress, her father would
pick him up at the airport and bring him to their house on
36th Street: "I have many fond memories of President
Ford. Perhaps the best ones are playing with his golden
retrievers on the White House lawn while my dad was doing
whatever he did. I have been in the private living quarters
of the White House, the Oval Office, the kitchen, the lawn
and on Air Force One."

Help at a difficult time

Carol DeYoung, of Wyoming, tells about her brother-in-law,
Gerald Lee DeYoung, a young Army sergeant who died June 30,
1956, while on a weekend pass at Kentucky Lake in Kentucky.
He fell from a speedboat and drowned. The Department of the
Army had the lake dragged, but to no avail, and decided to
stop the search. De Young's parents called Congressman
Ford for assistance: "Congressman Ford immediately
contacted the right people and the search continued,
however, his body was not found at that time. There were
several phone calls and letters exchanged between the family
and Congressman Ford during this period and it was always a
source of great consolation that such an important man would
take the time to do all he could to aid the family. Sgt. De
Young's body was found several months later and was
laid to rest on Oct. 29, 1956, in Grand Rapids. The kindness
and help the family received was never forgotten and they
were very touched by his effort."

Rose Garden civics lesson

Caledonia resident Rhonda Bennett visited Washington, D.C.,
with her high school government class in April 1975:
"The highlight of my experience was listening to
President Gerald Ford speak to us in the Rose Garden. He
reminisced about his first trip to the capital when he was
just 17 years old and shared that it was then that he was
inspired to get involved. He also told us that we had the
same opportunities and encouraged us to be active in
government."

Putting with the president

Bill Van Dyke of Grand Rapids took a chance and spoke duffer
to duffer: "In 1979, I wrote a President's Day,
tongue-in-cheek letter to President Ford offering my
'services' to 'round out his golf
foursome' in Palm Springs while vacationing with my
family. I was totally surprised by a telephone call from his
office a couple of weeks later inviting me to join him in a
golf game. He and I played together accompanied by four
Secret Service men."